Ensuring Firefighters Maintain Proper Health Fitness During and After Training

Homework #2
Questions
“The Effects of Fire Academy Training and Probationary Firefighter Status on Select Basic Health and Fitness Measurements”
Please type on this form (-20 pts if not) and answer in your own words (Please refrain from plagiarizing the article and/or working with a fellow student as Turnitin will be used to verify individuality).
Similarity Scores (Turnitin) must be no higher than 30% in order to submit your paper. Two ways to do this: (1) make sure you did not plagiarize and reword if you did, and/or (2) add more to your answers making sure you fully explained your answers.
NOTE: HW is 15% of your grade. Be detailed and thorough. When students take the time to truly understand the study, it shows. When students do not take the time, it also shows. Regardless, everyone gets the grade they earned.
1 What was the purpose of this article? (5pts)
The article follows the status of the recruits’ essential health and physical fitness to fire academy training. The article demonstrates the changes that take place during training and the early probation period. The article demonstrates the essence of ensuring that firefighters maintain proper health fitness during and after the training. The article also demonstrates that while maintaining physical health is critical; the training could lead to increased blood pressure among the firefighters.
2 How long is the recruit training? (2 pts)
The training for the two academies lasted for 15 and 16 weeks.
3 Why do YOU feel that firefighters decline in fitness after recruit training? Provide FIVE reasons and fully explain each one. (5 pts each = 25 pts total)
* The risk of injury. Some firefighters feel that they can easily be injured during the training and stay away from physical activity.
* Tight schedule. The tight schedule may leave firefighters with little time for doing physical exercise, and hence they decline fitness
* Inadequate support from superiors. The management may not emphasize fitness after the training, which discourages them from remaining fit.
* Exhaustion. The firefighters’ job is strenuous, leaving little time to engage in any physical activity. After a long day, a majority of them would want to rest instead of doing exercise.
* The task is physically engaging. Some do not see the need to excursive and remain healthy. Some may feel that they do enough exercise at the job; hence they do not care much about fitness.
4 One of the measurements that was tracked surprisingly increased. What measurement was it and why do YOU feel that happened during recruit training? (8 pts)
While the training led to improved body composition, physical fitness, and lifestyle, the researchers noted a surprising increase in both systolic and diabolic pressure. The systolic pressure increased from a median of 124.5 to 127.0 mm Hg, while diastolic blood pressure increased from an average of 71.1 to 74.8 mm Hg. The increase in blood pressure during the recruitment can be attributed to the extreme physical demand during the training. Additionally, the high temperatures during the fire suppression training increase physiological strain and hence the increase in blood pressure.
5 Mental health is mentio...